$214 million U.S. Postal Service contract leads to expanded operations at central Pa. facility

A $214 million dollar contract is the reason a Michigan company is expanding its operations in Lancaster County.

Spartan Motors will be expanding its operation in Lancaster County as a result of a $214 million dollar contract it received from the United State Postal Service to build more than 2,000 cargo body vehicles for parcel delivery.

Spartan Motors says that the contract for the company is the largest single order in the company's history which it says required the company to look outside of its Michigan and Indiana fleet vehicle manufacturing facilities to accommodate the large order. So the company is expanding its Utilimaster brand operations at the facility at 64 Cocalico Creek in West Earl Township near Ephrata.

The initial order of 2,000 truck bodies will be built and delivered over the span of two years, beginning this month, with an option for additional quantities to be delivered over a third contract year.

Spartan Motors says it will will invest at least $2.4 million into the project, which will result in the creation of 189 new, full-time jobs and the retention of 76 existing jobs over the next three years.

Spartan Motors was founded in 1975 and is a vehicle-specific design, engineering, manufacturing, assembly, and service company which says it produces more than 22,000 units annually, and employs more than 2,300 associates in seven states and three countries.

The joint announcement was made in a press release by Gov. Tom Wolf, the Department of Community and Economic Development, the Economic Development Company of Lancaster County and Spartan Motors on Thursday. Spartan is eligible to receive as much as $678,000 in state funding for the project.